The Ruins Of Beverast - Unlock The Shrine FLAC download

The album sets the tone immediately with an eerie intro comprised of some vocal sampling via a movie I'm not aware of. Distorted guitar begins shortly after accented by big, slow percussion. This lasts for a while. The sample returns, I'm assuming from the same source, but now it's layered under the instrumentation and seems to play shakily. All of this ceases and cuts to feedback. Smooth double floorbass goodness arrives, and finally the vocals are added.Speaking of the vocals, they start out as a demonic, echoed growl, but over the course of the album often raise a couple of pitches to sound like a mix between Varg's shrieking on his early work and the deeper growling heard on this first track. Both styles are fitting and welcome. The vocals are high in the mix and I appreciate that in black metal.During the intermission here we're presented with just one of the many killer riffs on this record.Now a super creepy ambient interlude plays out, jerking you from your trance and sending shivers down your spine. There is narration seemingly done by the vocalist. After a while some eclectic sounds can be heard. Heavy chairs being dragged across wooden floors and incessant banging. These replace the narration until the end of this track, where it briefly returns, and then an explosion, and then we're abruptly treated to the next track.HOLY SHIT, THESE DRUMS.Seriously, I got goosebumps as my senses were molested by these inhuman blastbeats. These peter out into standard black metal percussion when the rest of the instruments come in. A really unsettling choral sample is mixed low but cannot be ignored. Fantastic riffs again here. The blastbeats from hell return to finish this track off, and are joined by chanting that sound like a Dagon (Inquisition) cameo, loud cheers and some more choir. This is incredibly creepy. Flipping the record over and continuing this journey on side B, you'll raise your brow at the quirky 70s synth intro. It reminded me of No Quarter by Led Zeppelin. Very harsh guitar slowly fades into the mix and after a little while of noise it breaks into a disgusting buzzsaw riff. Ending this track are bells echoing sickly under layers of distortion and what must either be rainfall or static. It's hard to tell. A riff sombre yet triumphant kicks off this next piece, and this track is doom metal goodness! Really interesting time signatures too.Side C starts with what sounds like an outtake from Deathcrush's Sylvester Anfang intro. Bellowing wind and horns accent this atmospheric industrial intro. It's cool but it lasts way too long and I found myself wondering when the next song would finally start. BUT! It's worth the wait, because half way into this piece (which is standard by this point on the record and not of note) comes marching and another distorted chorus sample which reminds me heavily of audio recordings from 1940s Germany. Did I mention there's some fanfare during this section too? Awesome! But that's not the best part! Some of the best guitar work I've heard in a while joins the horns in melody and it's mind blowing! Totally my thing. Luckily for me it lasts for a little while too, so soak it up!A brief noisy intermission precedes some even noisier black metal sludge and the fanfare riff actually returns here. This is some fantastic attention to detail and songwriting. Another ambient piece here. Heavy breathing, dripping water, the return of the 70s synths and some weird chanting. The following track plays really slowly and maintains the synth.The intro to side D is right out of a fantasy movie montage. Killer bombastic drums and industrial goodness. More weird choral type samples. The synths make a return as the track winds down and transitions smoothly into another slow burner. Side D seems to be made up of odd trance-like experimental songs. There's even samples of a car alarm and weird gunfire that sounds like it's from a sci-fi movie. OVERALL VERDICT: This is a long and complex listen. You really have to sit down and focus with it. There are some shining moments, but they're buried in a lot of off-kilter experimental noise/ambient/industrial pieces. Is it worth the time? Personally, I admire the band's efforts but it doesn't end up being an enjoyable experience by the end. It's a bit of a chore honestly. There are listeners out there who yearn for this type of thing and for them I'm sure it's a blast. For me, I can appreciate the scope and complexity, but much of this album's run-time could have been shaved off. 7/10.